When Dany Met Ghost
by DancingKirby
Summary: Takes place during S8E1. Jon gets Daenerys acquainted with Ghost, and they also run into some other friends.


A/N: So this is actually that first GoT fic that I've completed. It's just a little fluff piece that I wanted to hurry up and post before everything goes to hell this Sunday.

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Dany had gotten Jon better acquainted with Drogon and Rhaegal, so now it was time for him to return the favor.

"A surprise, you say?" Dany mused as they walked back towards Winterfell. "What is it?"

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." Jon reminded her.

She slipped her arm into his and did that eyebrow quirk that he loved so much. "I suppose not."

It didn't take long to find what they were searching for. Ghost was sprawled out across the floor of the great hall, naturally right in everyone's way. In true direwolf fashion, he was also ignoring the large, comfortable bed by the fire that Sansa had commissioned just for him. At the approach of the pair, his head lifted up and his tail started thumping.

Jon was happy and somewhat relieved to see Dany's face light up.

"I should have known!" she exclaimed. "You spoke of your direwolf so fondly on the boat. I was actually going to ask if I could meet him; I've only had the chance to see him from a distance until now."

"I haven't spent as much time getting reacquainted with him as I would have liked myself," Jon admitted. It had been three days since their return, but with all of the strategy meetings, this was the first time that he has been able to spend more than a minute or two at a time with Ghost.

"Ghost! Here," he ordered. The direwolf arose with a leisurely stretch and a big yawn, and padded over to his owner. Jon spent a few minutes giving the scruff of Ghost's neck a proper scratching while the animal lovingly slobbered all over him. Then he redirected the direwolf's attention towards Dany, who had been waiting patiently for her turn.

"Ghost, this is Daenerys Targaryen, rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," he said. After a pause, he asked, "Do you think I should say all of the titles?"

Dany's eyes twinkled. "I think it would be permissible to omit them just this once." She held out her hand for Ghost to sniff, which he did with surprising delicacy.

"He's so gentle," she remarked. Jon thought that she was probably the only person in the entire world who would assign such an attribute to a direwolf.

The two of them took some time to get to know each other. Now that Dany had mentioned it, Jon did think that Ghost was treating her with an unusual amount of caution. As she stroked him, the direwolf continued to sniff at her, then let out a quiet whine and rested his head on her midsection. Jon wasn't entirely certain why Ghost was doing this; his best guess was that the direwolf had picked up his scent on Dany and had surmised that she was someone important to him. Or perhaps Ghost wanted something else.

"Would you like to accompany us on his afternoon w-a-l-k?" he asked. At Dany's puzzled expression, he elaborated, "He knows the word. If I hadn't spelled it out, he would have gotten excited and knocked you over."

"I see," she replied. After a pause of a few seconds–was she wondering whether that technique would also work on dragons?–she smiled and said, "I would be delighted."

The three of them walked out of the gloom and darkness of the great hall and into the slightly-less-gloomy courtyard. Ghost did his business promptly. Jon couldn't help but wonder how Drogon and Rhaegal took care of that. Their "nest" had been free of all debris except for the animal bones.

"I believe you already know the answer to that," Dany replied in a dignified tone when he asked.

"Wherever they want?" Jon ventured.

"Exactly."

While making their rounds, they had a chance encounter with Grey Worm and Missandei, who had been speaking quietly together in Valyrian. Jon didn't know either of the two well. He had only talked directly with Missandei that one time on Dragonstone, and had never spoken to Grey Worm at all. They both looked uncomfortable in their new surroundings, which unfortunately Jon couldn't fix right now. He could, however, offer them a distraction for the moment.

He waited until they were done exchanging pleasantries with Dany, and, since he was horrible at small talk, he abruptly asked, "Do you want to meet my direwolf?" Fortunately, if the other three thought this was strange, they didn't comment on it.

"Is he…safe?" Missandei inquired as she tentatively extended a hand.

"He knows who are my friends and who aren't," Jon assured her. Plus, he thought, Ghost was not likely to have issues with a native of Naath.

In any case, Missandei was not the person that attracted Ghost's interest. He only gave her a perfunctory hand sniff before heading straight to Grey Worm, standing on his hind legs, and putting his massive paws on the shoulders of the Unsullied leader.

"Ghost…" Jon started to scold, but Grey Worm held out a hand.

"It is all right," he said. He appeared as taken with Ghost as the direwolf was with him. Ghost gazed into Grey Worm's eyes like he knew something that Jon didn't.

Whatever it was, Missandei understood almost immediately. She looked over at Dany and murmured, "Khaleesi…" Dany looked confused for a few seconds, but then recognition dawned on her face, followed quickly by embarrassment.

"I apologize, Grey Worn," she said. "I…forgot. Should we take him away?"

Grey Worm shook his head as he stroked Ghost's head. They continued bonding in this way for a few more minutes, until Ghost had to fall back on all fours.

"Perhaps–if we don't all die–you could bring him back sometime?" Grey Worm asked.

"Of course," Jon said. As he, Dany, and Ghost walked away, he noted that Missandei and Grey Worm were now smiling as they continued their conversation.

"What was that about?" he asked Dany once they were out of earshot.

"Oh. As part of their training, Unsullied are given a dog with which to bond. Then they must kill it after a year or be killed themselves."

Jon looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's all right. I should have said something before. Still, I think it ended up doing him good, don't you?"

"Aye." And he had every intention of honoring his promise to bring Ghost back for a return visit if at all possible.

They fell silent. Was he supposed to have said something else? Seven Hells, he really _was_ bad at this. Finally, he decided on, "Well, it's going to be dinnertime soon. We should head back. They're making kidney pie tonight."

Dany looked intrigued.

"I've eaten locust pie before, but never kidney pie," she told him.

"I know. That's why I asked them to make it. We all loved it growing up." He paused. "I just hope that they'll make it as well as Old Nan did."

"You certainly know the way to a queen's heart, Jon Snow," Dany replied with a little laugh. They walked back to the great hall hand in hand, Ghost bounding joyfully ahead of them.


End file.
